"Up to the mid-1970s the German welfare state was mainly wage-labour-centred and based on the social insurance system. Due to economic and social developments, the welfare state has changed a lot since then. On the one hand, the wage-labour-centred elements of the welfare state have experienced considerable cuts, and, on the other hand, new not wage-labour-centred social political institutions have developed. Additionally, the targets of the German welfare state have changed: instead of (exclusively) securing people's living standards, combinations of incomes from different sources - i.e. income mixes ż have emerged. The paper ends with considerations on additional uses of social policy instruments that might help societies in phases of transformation." (author's abstract)